Christian Kramer

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Christian Kramer''' (January 16, 1781 – February 18, 1834<ref>{{LCAuth|id=n82201349}}</ref>) was a composer, arranger, musician and [[Master of the Queen's Music|Master of the King's Musick]] between 1829 and 1834.<ref>David Cannadine ''The Invention of Tradition'' (ed Eric Hobsbawm, Terence Ranger) (Cambridge University Press, 2000) 114</ref><ref>[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/93041 Masters of the King's/Queen's Music], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref> He served under two British kings; [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] and [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]].

Kramer was born in [[Hannover]] and was a pupil of Romantic composer [[Peter Winter]]. He became a court musician, eventually rising to lead George IV's personal orchestra ("band") which, according to ''Dwight's Journal of Music'' was "in its time acknowledged to be one of the best in Europe".<ref name=dwight>John Sullivan Dwight, ''Dwight's Journal of Music'' Volumes 7-8 (D.L. Balch, 1856) 26</ref> Notably, many of the musicians in his band were sourced from Germany.<ref name=dwight/> John Dwight goes on to note that he could play all of the instruments in his orchestra to a remarkable degree. ''A Dictionary of Musical Information'' of 1876 notes that he was "a composer of great ability",<ref>[[John Weeks Moore]], ''A Dictionary of Musical Information'' (Ayer Publishing, 1876) 44</ref> although none of his compositions have remained in the repertoire. He was apparently on good terms with the king; according to one account, like George IV, Kramer suffered from [[gout]] and was often inquired of by his master "after a simultaneous attack".<ref name=dwight/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-court}} {{succession box|title=[[Master of the King's Music]]|before=[[William Shield]]|after=[[Franz Cramer (violinist)|Franz Cramer]]|years=1829–1834}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Christian}} [[Category:1781 births]] [[Category:1834 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century German composers]] [[Category:19th-century German male composers]] [[Category:German conductors (music)]] [[Category:German male conductors (music)]] [[Category:Masters of the King's Music]]